At 6:30PM it is exactly 100 degrees F.
Katie and I have basically stayed in all day, and did things inside the trailer. Katie went through all the kitchen cupboards and organized things. I just did some small things, and did some computer stuff for some friends in the park.
Tonight we went and fed the goats again, the little ones are getting to the fence more and being proactive. Still pretty hot but good breeze. Now we're going to watch a bit of TV and go for a walk.
and so ends another great day in the Valley...
more later...
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Friday March 22nd
We just had a regular light fixture in the bedroom, so we decided it would be much better if we had a ceiling fan like we do in the living room. Hmmm...is this really a good idea? Sounds a lot like work!
After breakfast, we got started and laid out all the pieces on the top of the bed. There were many pieces. Step by step we started to assemble all the pieces, which had to be done in a certain order. We finally got to the point where we were going to hang the motor to the hanger bracket and then connect the wires. We thought that in the end it would look too low, with the size of extension as part of the fan assembly. Ok...let's cause ourselves some more work and mount the fan as a flush mount.
Off comes all the parts, and we construct it so that it will be a flush mount assembly. Heck of a lot more difficult to do the wiring this way, than the other way where the motor is basically hanging while you tie the wires together. Katie had to hold it for me by standing on the bed, while I did the wiring. Oh oh!...arms getting sore...ahh...finish the wiring just in time.
Finish getting the top part done, then it is time for the blades to be attached and the light fixture. We do all that, and hope that when we turn on the switch, everything will work. It does!!!
Trouble is, it is wobbling. Now we have to take the kit they put in with the fan, which basically consists of 3 gram weights and find out where to attach one, two, or three to get it to run without wobble. After lots of trial and error...Eureka!... success.
This is one of those things that is so easy that a kid can put it together and get it mounted...yup...so easy it took us about 3 hours...but it's done.
We went and fed the goats again...they really benefit from Katie's juicing. We stopped by our friends Brian and Linda's to talk about books for her reader. Had some laughs there, as Brian is always funny and so is Linda.
Took the Gps in the golf cart to see what speed it is going at the top....12MPH....hmmm...a little on the slow side, will have to see what I can do about that at some point.
Good supper, then relaxation for the rest of the night.
and so ends another great day in the valley...
more later...
After breakfast, we got started and laid out all the pieces on the top of the bed. There were many pieces. Step by step we started to assemble all the pieces, which had to be done in a certain order. We finally got to the point where we were going to hang the motor to the hanger bracket and then connect the wires. We thought that in the end it would look too low, with the size of extension as part of the fan assembly. Ok...let's cause ourselves some more work and mount the fan as a flush mount.
Off comes all the parts, and we construct it so that it will be a flush mount assembly. Heck of a lot more difficult to do the wiring this way, than the other way where the motor is basically hanging while you tie the wires together. Katie had to hold it for me by standing on the bed, while I did the wiring. Oh oh!...arms getting sore...ahh...finish the wiring just in time.
Finish getting the top part done, then it is time for the blades to be attached and the light fixture. We do all that, and hope that when we turn on the switch, everything will work. It does!!!
Trouble is, it is wobbling. Now we have to take the kit they put in with the fan, which basically consists of 3 gram weights and find out where to attach one, two, or three to get it to run without wobble. After lots of trial and error...Eureka!... success.
This is one of those things that is so easy that a kid can put it together and get it mounted...yup...so easy it took us about 3 hours...but it's done.
We went and fed the goats again...they really benefit from Katie's juicing. We stopped by our friends Brian and Linda's to talk about books for her reader. Had some laughs there, as Brian is always funny and so is Linda.
Took the Gps in the golf cart to see what speed it is going at the top....12MPH....hmmm...a little on the slow side, will have to see what I can do about that at some point.
Good supper, then relaxation for the rest of the night.
and so ends another great day in the valley...
more later...
Thursday March 22nd
Our friend June came over, so we could show her a few things on her new Nexus 7 tablet. We also just had fun chatting about all sorts of things. Then Bob Flock dropped by. Before we knew it, most of the morning was gone and it was time to and get a sound bar for the TV. The reason for the sound bar is that most of the LED Tv's made these days have a really good picture but not so good sound. It's not just one manufacturer either. When the air conditioning kicks in, and the TV volume goes up, the sound becomes distorted and it almost sounds like a rattle from the speakers. Trouble with this TV though, is that it only has one output for sound, but lots of inputs.
So we went to Radio Shack where I knew they had one. They were $20 more though, then Best Buy and Walmart. They refused to match prices saying it is not their policy. There was no one at all in the store, and not hard to tell why, as the two girls running the store did not have a clue about electronics, and couldn't see the value in matching the price rather than lose a customer. So we said bye bye to the two, and off to Walmart we went.
Got the sound bar $20 cheaper of course. Then we went to Ross Dress For Less. Quite the store, full of brand name clothing at much reduced prices. Used to be the same at Steinmart, but we will not be returning there, they are gradually pricing themselves out of existance. We always find some great T shirts, Katie got a cover for her tablet for $5.95, we got a picture for the bathroom, a container that we really like for coffee beans. The place was very crowded so required a bit of patience for checkout. Compare that with Steinmart which is right next door, and you could shoot a cannon through the place.
Came home and tried the soundbar...hmmm...doesn't work. No way to completely shut off the sound on the TV except for muting it. That will not work. Arggg...so we had to take it back. I will have to try and find another solution.
Then we went to the driving range, and we both were hitting the ball well.
We also went to feed the goats...
Then it was back home for some relaxation.
and so ends another great day in the Valley...
more later...
So we went to Radio Shack where I knew they had one. They were $20 more though, then Best Buy and Walmart. They refused to match prices saying it is not their policy. There was no one at all in the store, and not hard to tell why, as the two girls running the store did not have a clue about electronics, and couldn't see the value in matching the price rather than lose a customer. So we said bye bye to the two, and off to Walmart we went.
Got the sound bar $20 cheaper of course. Then we went to Ross Dress For Less. Quite the store, full of brand name clothing at much reduced prices. Used to be the same at Steinmart, but we will not be returning there, they are gradually pricing themselves out of existance. We always find some great T shirts, Katie got a cover for her tablet for $5.95, we got a picture for the bathroom, a container that we really like for coffee beans. The place was very crowded so required a bit of patience for checkout. Compare that with Steinmart which is right next door, and you could shoot a cannon through the place.
Came home and tried the soundbar...hmmm...doesn't work. No way to completely shut off the sound on the TV except for muting it. That will not work. Arggg...so we had to take it back. I will have to try and find another solution.
Then we went to the driving range, and we both were hitting the ball well.
We also went to feed the goats...
Then it was back home for some relaxation.
and so ends another great day in the Valley...
more later...
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday March 21st
Katie and I spent virtually the whole day, preparing for happy hour. We made a couple of trips to the store. Katie did the majority of the work, as she was cooking and preparing food. My job was to help her as much as I could. She was at it virtually the whole day.
Around 4:30, our friends started to arrive, then my job was to keep their cups full, and that the snacks were available. It is not easy to describe how well everyone gets along, and how there are so many in the group who have a fantastic sense of humour. The good thing about these folks is there is no negativity, no moaning and griping about things in general. This is a group that likes to have fun and lots of laughs, and I can only tell you, there were lots and lots of laughs from the time they got there until the time when everyone left.
Katie as usual, outdid herself with her food. That of course if my personal bias, but everyone seemed to enjoy the food, and some of the girls wanted recipes. Katie made turkey burger sliders with her own special recipe, she made her great pizza in tortilla shells, she made homemade lemon tarts on filo dough pastry shells. There was potato salad, sushi, home made cole slaw, veggie platter, quiche, and I think that may be it.
A great time was had by all, because laughter and smiling faces says it all.
Then it was time to relax, and try and decided what we are going to do with the leftovers.
And so ends another great day in the Valley with good friends...what more could a person ask for?
more later...
Around 4:30, our friends started to arrive, then my job was to keep their cups full, and that the snacks were available. It is not easy to describe how well everyone gets along, and how there are so many in the group who have a fantastic sense of humour. The good thing about these folks is there is no negativity, no moaning and griping about things in general. This is a group that likes to have fun and lots of laughs, and I can only tell you, there were lots and lots of laughs from the time they got there until the time when everyone left.
Katie as usual, outdid herself with her food. That of course if my personal bias, but everyone seemed to enjoy the food, and some of the girls wanted recipes. Katie made turkey burger sliders with her own special recipe, she made her great pizza in tortilla shells, she made homemade lemon tarts on filo dough pastry shells. There was potato salad, sushi, home made cole slaw, veggie platter, quiche, and I think that may be it.
A great time was had by all, because laughter and smiling faces says it all.
Then it was time to relax, and try and decided what we are going to do with the leftovers.
And so ends another great day in the Valley with good friends...what more could a person ask for?
more later...
Tuesday March 21st
Time is flying by too fast...not good...especially thinking of all the snow and cold back home.
Today was a day for gathering supplies. Katie and I are having a happy hour at our place, for 14 of our friends in the park. That is about all we can accommodate in the space we have. We were going to have one last year but Katie broke her foot so we had to cancel. It would be nice to be able to invite more, but no can do in one sitting.
In the afternoon, took some time out to go to the range. Katie has been having a bit of trouble with her golf game, and says it may have something to do with her new body type. Hmmm...I should say so...60 pounds less makes a big difference. She keeps saying when she is frustrated "I golfed better when I was fat" Our friend Raymond, who is an excellent golfer, was nice enough to come to the range to see if he could help Katie with her game. Always good to have a different and knowledgeable set of eyes, looking at the problem. Raymond is very patient, and by the end of the session, Katie was hitting some beauties. Golf is a strange game...start doing little things wrong...can't figure out what the problem is...frustration sets in...and confidence in your ability to make the shot...is shot!
I could see Katie's confidence in her swing returning.
At the end, Katie pretended she was mad, threw her club down, and gave Raymond a big hug.
At night we just got a few things organized, then relaxed, and off to bed.
and so ends another great day in the Valley...
more later...
Today was a day for gathering supplies. Katie and I are having a happy hour at our place, for 14 of our friends in the park. That is about all we can accommodate in the space we have. We were going to have one last year but Katie broke her foot so we had to cancel. It would be nice to be able to invite more, but no can do in one sitting.
In the afternoon, took some time out to go to the range. Katie has been having a bit of trouble with her golf game, and says it may have something to do with her new body type. Hmmm...I should say so...60 pounds less makes a big difference. She keeps saying when she is frustrated "I golfed better when I was fat" Our friend Raymond, who is an excellent golfer, was nice enough to come to the range to see if he could help Katie with her game. Always good to have a different and knowledgeable set of eyes, looking at the problem. Raymond is very patient, and by the end of the session, Katie was hitting some beauties. Golf is a strange game...start doing little things wrong...can't figure out what the problem is...frustration sets in...and confidence in your ability to make the shot...is shot!
I could see Katie's confidence in her swing returning.
At the end, Katie pretended she was mad, threw her club down, and gave Raymond a big hug.
At night we just got a few things organized, then relaxed, and off to bed.
and so ends another great day in the Valley...
more later...
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Monday March 18th
Went golfing with Al and Bonnie this morning at 7:38AM. Still dark out, but starting to get light when we started. Beautiful morning and stayed that way until a few holes left in the round when it was about 11:30. Very hot day 38 degrees Celsius. It was a fun round with our friends, and very enjoyable.
Katie and I came home, had lunch and relaxed a bit before it was time to hit the road and go to Mexico to see "the girls". We met Sister Maureen, Ken and Vickey, and a man named Win, who comes from Saskatchewan, but lives in the same park as Ken and Vickey...Pine to Palm in Weslaco. He sponsors a little girl in Canalas about 15 miles or so from Neuvo Progresso, where the girls live.
We met Sr. Maureen in her red truck circa 2:00PM on the U.S. side where we park the car for the day. Then it was off to Karelly and Livy's house. Sr. Maureen dropped us off there, and she Ken and Vickey and Win, carried on to Canalas.
Mom and Dad were both home, and as soon as the girls saw us, it was hugs all around. Not hard to tell they missed us, and we missed them big time as well. We went into a small bedroom, and caught up gradually on what we had missed. I used my English to Spanish translator again, where you can just speak into it. It translates better from English to Spanish, than it does the other way around. The girls are so much fun, hard to believe that Karelly is now in grade 5. She showed last year's report card which was all A+ and A's, and a 9.8 grade point average out of 10. Livy is in Grade one, and her report card is excellent as well. Good part is they are also learning English in school, so we heard quite a few english phrases throughout the time we spent.
We had our tablet with us, so we showed them previous pictures we had taken last year, and Katie was also taking plenty of pictures with her new camera. Katie also showed them the "Angry Birds Game" and Livy played it for a long time. Karelly also like it, and the two of them caught on within a couple of minutes. They are both so smart, and we were able to tell them so, as well as Mom Erica.
Erica brought us some potato salad, in a sauce which was very good. She had also made us Tamales last week, and we missed getting them from Sr. Maureen. They are in her freezer so we will get them eventually.
We were probably with the kids for a couple of hours, and we had a great time! Not always necessary to be able to converse in the same language, there are all sorts of ways to communicate, but the translator helped a lot at times.
Here are some of the photos we took...
When Sister Maureen returned we spent some time outside, pushing the kids on the swing that Dad had constructed out of an old tire and some rope. Livy was having a great time being pushed, and Karelly climbed up on the fence, and showed us how she does it. These kids are amazing, every once in a while for apparently no reason, they will just reach out to Katie and I and give us a big hug. Hard to explain how much we care about them, and we just wish that Durga, Katie's friend who sponsors Karelly, could experience the same thing. She does get some of it through pictures though, so much better than sponsoring some child with an organization overseas, where one is not sure where the money is going, and the child never gets to meet the sponsor, or have any other type of good contact.
Finally it was time to go. Katie and I wanted to go back Thursday, but Sr. Maureen said it is Winter Texan appreciation day, and that if we were really smart we would stay away as she is. So, now we will not get to go back, until the week after next, as Sister Maureen is on a retreat in San Antonio. At least we were able to convey that to the girls.
The next time we go back we will bring some clothes as well as other things for the girls as we now know the sizes. We were able to communicate with mom and she brought a couple of items out for each so we could look at the tags.
So sad, we had to say goodbye for now. We say in Spanish "Te Amo" which means we love you, and the girls both responded in English "We love you". Can't believe the feelings we have for those two. If something happened to their parents, and we were legally able to, we would take them in a heartbeat.
Can't wait to see them again! They have a way of filling you up!
and so ended another great day in the Valley
more later...
Katie and I came home, had lunch and relaxed a bit before it was time to hit the road and go to Mexico to see "the girls". We met Sister Maureen, Ken and Vickey, and a man named Win, who comes from Saskatchewan, but lives in the same park as Ken and Vickey...Pine to Palm in Weslaco. He sponsors a little girl in Canalas about 15 miles or so from Neuvo Progresso, where the girls live.
We met Sr. Maureen in her red truck circa 2:00PM on the U.S. side where we park the car for the day. Then it was off to Karelly and Livy's house. Sr. Maureen dropped us off there, and she Ken and Vickey and Win, carried on to Canalas.
Mom and Dad were both home, and as soon as the girls saw us, it was hugs all around. Not hard to tell they missed us, and we missed them big time as well. We went into a small bedroom, and caught up gradually on what we had missed. I used my English to Spanish translator again, where you can just speak into it. It translates better from English to Spanish, than it does the other way around. The girls are so much fun, hard to believe that Karelly is now in grade 5. She showed last year's report card which was all A+ and A's, and a 9.8 grade point average out of 10. Livy is in Grade one, and her report card is excellent as well. Good part is they are also learning English in school, so we heard quite a few english phrases throughout the time we spent.
We had our tablet with us, so we showed them previous pictures we had taken last year, and Katie was also taking plenty of pictures with her new camera. Katie also showed them the "Angry Birds Game" and Livy played it for a long time. Karelly also like it, and the two of them caught on within a couple of minutes. They are both so smart, and we were able to tell them so, as well as Mom Erica.
Erica brought us some potato salad, in a sauce which was very good. She had also made us Tamales last week, and we missed getting them from Sr. Maureen. They are in her freezer so we will get them eventually.
We were probably with the kids for a couple of hours, and we had a great time! Not always necessary to be able to converse in the same language, there are all sorts of ways to communicate, but the translator helped a lot at times.
Here are some of the photos we took...
When Sister Maureen returned we spent some time outside, pushing the kids on the swing that Dad had constructed out of an old tire and some rope. Livy was having a great time being pushed, and Karelly climbed up on the fence, and showed us how she does it. These kids are amazing, every once in a while for apparently no reason, they will just reach out to Katie and I and give us a big hug. Hard to explain how much we care about them, and we just wish that Durga, Katie's friend who sponsors Karelly, could experience the same thing. She does get some of it through pictures though, so much better than sponsoring some child with an organization overseas, where one is not sure where the money is going, and the child never gets to meet the sponsor, or have any other type of good contact.
Finally it was time to go. Katie and I wanted to go back Thursday, but Sr. Maureen said it is Winter Texan appreciation day, and that if we were really smart we would stay away as she is. So, now we will not get to go back, until the week after next, as Sister Maureen is on a retreat in San Antonio. At least we were able to convey that to the girls.
The next time we go back we will bring some clothes as well as other things for the girls as we now know the sizes. We were able to communicate with mom and she brought a couple of items out for each so we could look at the tags.
So sad, we had to say goodbye for now. We say in Spanish "Te Amo" which means we love you, and the girls both responded in English "We love you". Can't believe the feelings we have for those two. If something happened to their parents, and we were legally able to, we would take them in a heartbeat.
Can't wait to see them again! They have a way of filling you up!
and so ended another great day in the Valley
more later...
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Sunday Mar 17th
Went golfing at 11AM with our friends Lorraine and Raymond. It was a really good pace and not too hot with a good wind. I felt pretty good about my game today, as I was pretty consistent, unlike the other day. Katie made some really good shots, but is struggling a bit for consistency. The way she hits the ball, is really something for someone who doesn't get to play much. Her chipping and putting is pretty good though.
Raymond is going to give her some tips on Tuesday afternoon, as he is a very good golfer. Better that she hears from him as well as me.
Very enjoyable day, and Ray and Lorraine came to our place after for a couple of drinks and some munchies. We had a good time.
Then we baby sat Katie the dog, for Al and Bonnie who were in a tournament in Harlingen. From what Bonnie and Al said it could have been better, and there was a mixup so they didn't get their food on time at the dinner. Al's food was cold when it arrived. they got back around 9PM, and as we have a 7:38AM tee time in the morning with Al and Bonnie, a bit of relaxation is in order, then bed.
and so ends another great day in the valley.
more later...
Raymond is going to give her some tips on Tuesday afternoon, as he is a very good golfer. Better that she hears from him as well as me.
Very enjoyable day, and Ray and Lorraine came to our place after for a couple of drinks and some munchies. We had a good time.
Then we baby sat Katie the dog, for Al and Bonnie who were in a tournament in Harlingen. From what Bonnie and Al said it could have been better, and there was a mixup so they didn't get their food on time at the dinner. Al's food was cold when it arrived. they got back around 9PM, and as we have a 7:38AM tee time in the morning with Al and Bonnie, a bit of relaxation is in order, then bed.
and so ends another great day in the valley.
more later...
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